
In this episode of Puppets Go BOOM!, Arun and Patricia discuss about the 1968 sci-fi espionage series Joe 90. A young 9 year old boy named Joe McClaine is helping his adopted father Ian "Mac" McClaine testing his invention the Brain Impulse Galvanoscope Record and Transfer (BIG RAT) where it sends pre-recorded brain wave patterns into the recipient sitting on it. After the test is successful, Sam Loomer, an agent of the World Intelligence Network (WIN) sees the potential of the BIG RAT and Joe, so he proposes to have him as their youngest secret agent with the alias Joe 90. Thanks to the BIG RAT, Joe is able to get the knowledge of pilots, secret agents, piano players, military colonels, racecar drivers, and spies. Armed with a pair of glasses to bring the brain waves into his head, a badge, a walkie talkie, and a gun inside a briefcase, Joe goes on various missions to save people from harm as well as preventing shady weapon trading, assassinations, tortures, and murders from happening. When the show premiered, it was released during the height of the James Bond films being released as well as both The Avengers and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. airing on TV. Kids gravitated to the show putting themselves into Joe 90's adventures wanting to be just like him. However, Joe 90 wasn't as beloved compared to its previous Supermarionation shows due to being more child-oriented and having a smaller cast of characters compared to Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. What did Arun and Patricia think of it? Listen and find out.